Palestinians and Israelis clash in West Bank, Jerusalem

NABLUS/JERUSALEM (Reuters/AFP) - A Palestinian youth was killed by Israel troops and another was seriously wounded on Saturday during a clash in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian hospital officials said. The youths had been taking part in a demonstration in which stones were thrown at Israeli soldiers near the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said the 16-year-old was killed by Israeli gunfire. The fatality was the first in a string of clashes that erupted this week in protest of Israels consecration of an ancient synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem and would likely increase tensions. The Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank and East Jerusalem during anti-settlement protests after Friday prayers. In Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, troubles broke out in the Shuafat Palestinian refugee camp, where AFP photographers saw youths throw stones at police who responded with massive volleys of tear-gas grenades. Witnesses saw plainclothes policemen grab six youngsters and remove them from the scene. There were also skirmishes in the citys Issawiya neighbourhood. Some of the fiercest confrontations were at Qalandia, the main crossing point between Jerusalem and the city of Ramallah where the Palestinian Authority has its headquarters. Staff at a Ramallah hospital said six Palestinians were injured in those clashes, one of them in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the chest. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she had no knowledge of Israelis opening fire there. In the West Bank city of Hebron, about 300 protesters chanted Thousands of martyrs march to Jerusalem and several of them hurled rocks at security forces who responded with tear gas. In Dir Nizam, near Ramallah, about 100 Palestinians hurled rocks at soldiers, slightly injuring one, the military said. An army statement said three alleged rioters were detained for questioning. Similar confrontations took place at Bilin and Nilin, sites of weekly Palestinian protests against Israels West Bank 'security barrier. Police were also on high alert inside Jerusalem where authorities again prevented men under 50 from attending Friday prayers at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said prayers at the compound passed without incident and Jerusalem was generally calm. An already charged atmosphere intensified this week as a rebuilt 17th-century synagogue was opened in the Jewish quarter of the Old City, a few hundred metres from the compound.